Homewood, Vestavia Hills Ranked Among 2026 Best Schools And Districts In America
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Good news for Birmingham! Two local school systems—Homewood City Schools and Vestavia Hills City Schools—just scored highly among Niche’s 2026 Best Schools and Districts in America, topping the list of best school districts in Alabama.
Niche releases 2026 Best Schools and Districts in America report
Last week, comprehensive ranking and review platform Niche released its 2026 Best School Districts in America list. The list was based on over 2.5 million reviews from students, parents and teachers combined with key statistics from the U.S. Department of Education and date from:
- 93,000 public schools
- 30,000 private schools
- 11,000 school districts nationwide
School districts were ranked on several factors, including:
- State test scores
- College readiness
- Graduation rates
- Teacher quality
- Public school district ratings
Note: This year, Niche removed SAT/ACT scores to reflect a “general de-emphasis on test scores in the college admissions process.”
Birmingham-area school districts ranked among best school districts in the country
This year, several Alabama school districts ranked highly among Niche’s list, with Homewood City Schools and Vestavia Hills City Schools coming in at #46 and #85 in the nation, respectively.
According to Niche’s 2026 report, the top 5 school districts in Alabama are:
- Homewood
- Vestavia Hills
- Auburn
- Madison
- Mountain Brook
Flashback: In 2025, Homewood ranked #1 while Vestavia Hills ranked #4 best school districts in Alabama.
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